Hippo Maikel died at Frankfurt Zoo, Germany, after swallowing a tennis ball that had been thrown at him by a visitor. He died in 'agony' four days later with his bowel blocked, according to a pathologist.

Arriving at Dundee Sheriff Court in a brown wig, Princess Theodora Sayn-Wittgenstein was fined £1,000 for her actions - with her defence admitting her behavior had 'brought shame on herself and her family'.

The vote by the councillors in the town of Dietramszell in Bavaria - the state where Nazism was born - is an embarrassment that shows the sneaking admiration that some in Germany continue to harbour for the dictator 68 years after his death in Berlin.

Karamba Diaby, pictured, and Charles M.Huber, descended from Senegal, have been hailed as figures of historical importance for the country - which celebrated the start of Angela Merkel's third term in office on Sunday.

The extraordinary statement has angered leaders across the world after leaked documents revealed America 'targetted' 38 foreign missions and embassies including the European Union's Washington nerve centre.

Picture taken in 1972 shows Mrs Merkel marching with a group of friends and an East German officer as they prepared to take part in a civil defence exercise. The photo was released as a new book alleged she was closer to communists than she has claimed.

SAP believes people with the condition are ideally suited to its line of work, and wants one per cent of its employees to be autistic by 2020. The plight of sufferers was first brought into the public eye by Dustin Hoffman (pictured) in the film Rainman

Greece has been hit hard by austerity cuts that prompted many to take to the streets to protest (as pictured). And, since 2010, more than 2,500 people have taken their own lives. Also on the rise is the usage of anti-depressant drugs.

German prosecutors are mulling over whether to press charges on Ecclestone after Gerhard Gribkowsky admitted taking a payment from the tycoon for selling a stake in the racing business to the 'right bidder'

Exit polls showed Barbara Rosenkranz, received 15.5 per cent of the vote as her Freedom Party reinvents itself a decade after former leader Joerg Haider first won power on an anti-immigrant, anti-EU platform.

The four German seniors said they were so incensed over the losses that American-born investment specialist James Amburn incurred that they hatched the plan to kidnap him in a bid to get their cash back.